Welcome to North Rhine-Westphalia
Germany's center of biotechnology
North Rhine-Westphalia lies in the heart of Europe and is the most populous and densely settled of the 16 federal states of Germany. Its major metropolitan areas are the Ruhr region (5.2 million residents) and the Rhineland (3.5 million residents). 42% of Germany's overall sales in the biotechnology sector are generated by 71 biotechnology companies that employ 3,400 people. The majority of biotechnology patent applications in Europe originates from North Rhine-Westphalia. North Rhine-Westphalia has helped biotechnology develop into an important innovative economic sector in Germany in recent years. 360 life science companies including 86 firms that successfully focus on biotechnology have made the state a leading center of innovation in Europe. Numerous small and medium-size companies that have also achieved success on the international stage call North Rhine-Westphalia their home, along with a robust globally active chemical and pharmaceutical industry. In addition to a first-class environment for biotech science offered by 50 institutions of higher learning and nonuniversity research facilities, there are more than 55 technology centers in North Rhine-Westphalia that serve as incubators for startup companies with links to universities, companies and investors.
BIO.NRW Cluster Biotechnology North Rhine-Westphalia
Why the focus on biotechnology?
The policy of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia of focusing on biotechnology fosters cooperation between companies, research institutions and the public sector along chains of added value within 16 branches and fields of technology. BIO.NRW, one of the 17 state clusters of industry, centrally catalyzes the ongoing development of the strengths of North Rhine-Westphalian biotechnology. BIO.NRW fosters cooperation between researchers, developers, investors and politicians on the state, national and international level.
Within the framework of the North Rhine-Westphalian cluster policy, the cluster BIO.NRW is being funded by the Ministry for Innovation, Science and Research.
